


peaches & melons

by DoorIsAjar



Category: citrus - サブロウタ | citrus - Saburouta
Genre: F/F, I Love You, i love you too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-04-07 09:20:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19082110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoorIsAjar/pseuds/DoorIsAjar
Summary: drabbles to make your heart beat faster and make your day all fuzzy and warm!





	1. yellow tulips

**Author's Note:**

  * For [d_wolpertinger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/d_wolpertinger/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuzu buys yellow tulips for Mei. It's too bad she isn't fluent in the language of flowers.

Yuzu stared at the arrangement of flowers before her, her chin perched upon the cusp of her hand between the thumb and pointer finger. A thoughtful hum sounded from the back of her throat as she studied the colorful folliage before her.

"Can I help you with anything, miss?"

Yuzu turned her attention to the right, where a rather nice-looking man stood. A green apron was hung around his neck, and it was dirty with soil and other plant-things that Yuzu wouldn't know. He had shaggy brown hair that was even further ruffled from the wind, and the name tag punctured perfectly straight into his apron read "Shinji."

Yuzu thought, if she weren't here picking flowers for someone already, she might have just fawned over him.

But not now, not any longer.

No.

Not even the tiniest _blip_ went off within her chest.

Her heart only flipped and skipped beats and pulsed way faster than normal for _one_ person.

"I'm looking for some flowers," Yuzu answered.

She tilted back on the heels of her feet, eyes glancing behind Shinji to another array of flowers that she hadn't yet looked at.

He gave a soft laugh in response. "Well, you're certainly in the right place for that." He peered down at the bundle of blue flowers in front of them. "What's the occasion?"

At that, Yuzu could feel the cheeks darken. Her eyes focused more intently on the flowers directly behind the man, bent on refuting eye contact.

"I-It's not for any _particular_ occasion," Yuzu began, clearing her throat in an attempt to hide her small bout of nervousness. "Just to say, well..." Yuzu wrung her hands, tucking her chin to her neck as her cheeks darkened a little further. "Just to say _'I love you.'"_

Another chuckle from the guy met her ears. "There are plenty of flowers that express that sentiment." He then placed his hand on his chin, rubbing as though in thought. "Any color in particular?"

Yuzu paused, eyes roaming the rainbow of colors splattered across the store.

And then, just as she reached the end of a row of flowers:

"Yellow."

"Yellow..." Shinji repeated. "That's a lovely color. It'll certainly remind the lucky guy of you whenever he looks at them."

And like that, something had sunk into Yuzu's stomach, heavy and fast and a little nauseating.

"Shall I show you to—"

"No, that's fine," Yuzu interrupted. Her face was no longer red, and it was completely neutral, as though it had never changed color to begin with. "I can take it from here. Thank you for your time."

The words tumbled quickly and awkwardly from Yuzu's lips, just as quickly and awkwardly as she made her way over to the collection of yellow flowers towards the back right of the store.

 

* * *

 

"Yuzu."

"Hmm?" Yuzu hummed. She took the earbuds out of her ears and set her pencil down atop the notes that she had been studying.

"What is this?"

She turned in her seat to Mei's question. In the younger girl's hands was a stout vase filled with water and a bundle of yellow flowers.

The very flowers she had decided upon early that day at the flower shop.

Yuzu's cheeks, similar to in the flower shop, turned a deep red. Her head snapped back to her notes to avoid the questioning gaze that Mei had directed towards her.

"Flowers," Yuzu mustered out.

A beat, filled solely with random scribbling of some numbers around a triangular diagram—and then:

"I am aware that these are flowers, Yuzu."

The older girl mentally groaned.

"Tulips," she elaborated. "They're tulips."

Behind her, Yuzu could hear some scuffling against the floor.

"Are you aware of what yellow tulips represent?"

"W-Well, the guy at the store told me to look at the yellow flowers when I told him what I wanted."

There was another moment of feet scuffling against the wood of the floor. The hesitancy from Mei made her insides messy, a jumble of nerves that wouldn't calm down.

She dared to turn back around in her seat, pen clasped with far more force than necessary between her fingers.

When her eyes met Mei's own, she found the younger girl's gaze unwilling to meet her own.

"What was it that you wanted, Yuzu?"

The buzz in the pit of Yuzu's gut grew, and there was now a pounding in her ears that accompanied that nervous energy pulsating throughout her. She swallowed down her nerves.

Or, at least, attempted to.

It didn't work too well, not by the way her voice wobbled.

"I, um... I wanted a way to tell you _'I love you.'"_

Her emerald eyes glanced up, quickly and tentatively; and while Mei was still highly interested in the floor, her face had flushed, a clear indication that she had heard Yuzu.

"Is that what yellow tulips represent?"

"That's what the guy at the shop said!" Yuzu explained rapidly, as if trying to defend herself.

"...I see."

 _"I see?"_ Yuzu's heart flipped, but the feeling wasn't a pleasant one. What kind of response was—

"Thank you, Yuzu."

The fit of chaos in her stomach hadn't eased an inch.

But, it wasn't a ball of nerves any longer, nor was it that suddenly sinking feeling she had just experienced. It was more like...

Like a ball of butterflies.

And it was a pleasant feeling.

Most certainly, if the upturn to the corners of her lips were any indication.

And her heart flipped and skipped beats and pulsed way faster than normal in that moment.

And when she spotted the corners of Mei's own lips turning up, eyes gently gazing over the flowers in her hold, Yuzu very well thought her heart would jump right out of her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are numerous meanings to yellow tulips. Some of the positive ones include telling the person that they have a bright smile or symbolizing happiness and cheerfulness. However, in terms of love, the yellow tulip symbolizes rejected or unrequited love.
> 
> My intent was for Mei to be aware of this meaning; but because Yuzu mistakenly understood the yellow tulips to mean something else, Mei would accept Yuzu's meaning, instead. :)
> 
> This collection of fics or drabbles will be where I house everything I write for [d_wolpertinger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/d_wolpertinger/pseuds/d_wolpertinger) ❤️
> 
> ch. originally written on 5.13.19


	2. seven (terribly long) days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mei is gone for a week. Yuzu can handle it. At least, that's what she keeps telling herself.

A week.

Seven days.

One hundred sixty eight hours.

...If Yuzu did the math right, anyway.

Regardless, it was only a week.

She could do a week.

At least, that's what she keeps telling herself.

But then day four arrives, just barely past the halfway mark, and suddenly it feels all the harder to get herself to day seven.

It was only a week.

Seven days.

Just seven days.

But that was seven days of not seeing her at school.

Of having an empty seat to her right at the dinner table.

Of rolling over in the middle of the night, expecting her to be there but instead finding the other half of the bed empty.

And come the morning of the fourth day, Yuzu can't deny any longer that she feels as though she is missing a part of herself.

Maybe she's taken it for granted, all the mundane things to which she has grown so accustomed, because now it is incredibly difficult to imagine three more days of this.

Of waking up alone.

Of no sleepy, sloppy good morning kisses as the two fumble in their just-awakened states.

Of going through another day where the other half of her heart lies across a body of water, in an entire other _country._

It's nearing the end of day five when Yuzu can hardly take the ache in her chest.

Their time zones are all screwy, and she's not even sure what time it is on the other end when she hits _"Call"_ on the cell phone.

It takes a couple rings, and just as she's prepared to hang up, the call connects.

Even then, Yuzu has to wait a few moments. She can hear some shuffling from sheets on the other end, and instantly she realizes that it's the middle of the night on _her_ end.

_"Yuzu..? Is something wrong?"_

The words are so heavily laced with sleep, and Yuzu can't stand how easily they fill her heart.

"Mei," she starts, fidgeting with the phone, pulling it closer to her ear as though it will truly bring her closer to the other girl. "Nothing's wrong. I just..." her cheeks turn a rosy pink, but she continues. "I wanted to hear your voice."

_"...oh."_

Yuzu laughs, half nervous, half relieved. "I forgot the time difference, though. Did I wake you?"

_"Yes."_

Yuzu can feel her heart sink a little. She really would have liked more than a mere minute call. But Mei is traveling for important matters regarding the academy; it will do her no good to be tired. And, really, it's only two more days. It can't be that bad.

...Can it?

_"But..."_

There's some more shuffling on Mei's end, and Yuzu refuses to breathe, lest she miss what Mei says next.

_"I have been wanting to hear your voice, as well."_

The way Yuzu's heart shoots back up into her chest, filling her to the brim with a warmth that she's been missing for five horribly long days, is indescribable.

It takes nearly thirty minutes for sleep to retake Mei. But even then, Yuzu doesn't hang up. There's a tiny bit of sleep talking that Yuzu can't hardly discern from Mei's end, and she fully intends to listen to that, as well as the gentle exhales of slumber, for as long as she can.

It's not even a full two days left now.

That's less than forty eight hours.

Less than forty eight hours until she can see Mei again.

She can do this.

And so, two days later, Yuzu and her mother stand waiting at the airport for the other half of their family to return to them.

Yuzu can tell—the moment that Mei and her father exit the terminal—that they're tired. Shou is yawning, as though he had just woken from a nap before being kicked from the plane; and Mei's posture is uncharacteristically slouched a tad. Yuzu assumes it's jet lag, although she will not deny that the picture of the two of them so much less coherent than usual is a sight worth remembering.

However, the moment that Mei's eyes meet hers, something shifts.

It doesn't faze Shou, not in his sleepy stupor, when Mei's pace increases, nor does the suddenly loud rolling of the wheels to her suitcase as it bounds along after her.

The stop is so abrupt that the suitcase doesn't have time to right itself, and it collapses to the floor beside the two girls with a metallic _clack._

And when Yuzu's arms wrap around Mei, when she buries her face into the side of Mei's neck and lets out a sigh that's been pent up for the entire duration of the younger girl's trip—a full _seven days,_ which is clearly _far_ too long a time to be downplayed—Yuzu's knees grow weak.

She tightens her hold, unwilling to let go, unwilling to let herself be fooled into thinking she can really deny just how much she _missed_ Mei.

Yuzu tightens her hold. Her fingers grab at tufts of fabric; and when she breathes in, it's just as nearly cathartic as her sigh, to be able to inhale and be surrounded by nothing but _Mei_ again.

"Yuzu."

It's a small sound, and it registers then to the older girl just how tight is Mei's own hold on her.

"Mm?" Yuzu hums in reply, and she's tempted to plant a kiss on the side of Mei's neck, right from where she would be oh so happy to never leave.

"I missed you."

The breath stalls in Yuzu's throat.

It takes her a second to compose herself; but once she has, she laughs. It's dreamy, almost, in the way it escapes like a sigh, like something she had been holding in, something she couldn't let go until this _exact_ moment.

"I missed you, too, Mei."

And that night, when Yuzu rolls over, her fingers find home on pajamas and skin, the other half of the bed filled with warmth.

She happily draws herself closer to whom she had missed for those seven terribly long days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ❤︎
> 
> 6.22.19


	3. benefits of no school

It is late.

Or extremely early.

That is the first thought to bubble up in Yuzu's mind when her eyes wearily blink open and are met with near-darkness.

She is tempted to roll over and scooch all the closer to whom she knows is very much asleep on the other side of the bed. However, there is something soft across her cheek, something soothing and lulling her rather quickly back to slumber before she can move a muscle.

_"Yuzu."_

She sighs, letting her eyes dip closed to the gentle tune of her name, and reaches up towards her face where that pleasant warmth sits. Her fingers find a hand caressing the curve of cheek to jaw.

She knows who it is with a warm swell to her chest.

"What're you doing up, Mei?" Yuzu asks, a smile curving her lips.

"My meeting with Grandfather ran late," Mei replies. Her voice is hardly above a whisper. "Why haven't you changed out of your uniform?"

Yuzu sleepily hums before shimmying closer to Mei, wrapping her arms awkwardly around the younger girl. "I was waiting up for you. But I guess I fell asleep at some point."

It doesn't take long—for Yuzu has far too strong a hold over Mei and her heart—to pull the younger girl with her onto bed, both of them still clad in their school uniforms.

A soft _"ow"_ from Yuzu—followed by _"Do you still have on your shoes?"_ —leads to a darkening of Mei's cheeks. It's customary to take them off at the door, which she had clearly neglected to do. She's not certain if it were her exhaustion, or the tug to find the other half of her heart the moment she had stepped through the door. Either way, she's glad Yuzu doesn't question it (though it's likely that questioning will come tomorrow morning, when the blonde girl is far more coherent).

And now Mei's crawling _(being dragged)_ into bed with them on.

Mei can only chuckle when Yuzu's feet begin to push at the heels of her shoes. It's a very poor attempt at slipping them off; but one still manages to clatter to the floor.

The other follows a second later; and it's then—with the patter of the second shoe hitting the floor as confirmation of their clumsy antics—that Yuzu wraps herself fully around Mei.

Neither one of them is sure how they look upon falling asleep, as that drop off into slumber comes far too quickly to particularly _care_ if they look a mess.

But come morning, it stands to reason that they are nothing short of a mess of limbs and covers.

Their legs are intertwined, and it is completely indiscernible whose are whose, yet it feels indescribably _right._ Yuzu's nose is buried into raven locks; and Mei can only pray that drool has not buried itself there, as well. An arm lies at her hip, while one of her own hands grips gently at the front of Yuzu's shirt.

It's still dim outside, and Mei—despite her usual punctual nature—cannot fathom moving.

Her heart beats languidly within her chest, comfortably and comfortingly.

If she leaned forward a hair, her lips could rest upon Yuzu's collar.

It's tempting.

And she's almost worked herself up to it when a sleepy moan reaches her ears.

The hold at her hip slips around to her back and tightens, fingers unfolding across the curve of her spine.

 _"Mmm..._ Mei."

It's then that Mei lets herself kiss Yuzu's skin. Her lips linger there, all the more content to remain when a sigh is breathed into her hair.

And it's a gradual thing, when the sound of delicate giggles and the sound of soft kisses begin filling the space, just like the sun that begins—rather unknowingly—lighting the room. It should be a more than obvious hint that the two should untangle themselves from the sheets and each other; but for what purpose would they do that?

It's a good thing, Yuzu vaguely thinks, that there is no school today.

When the pair shifts, and suddenly there's a weight on top of her, pushing her into the cushiony bed beneath her, Yuzu can't help but think that it's a _very_ good thing there is no school today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ❤︎
> 
> 6.26.19


	4. one kiss a day

Yuzu tapped the toe of her shoe to the ground, securing it into place as Mei pulled opened the door to their apartment.

"Ready, Mei?" Yuzu asked, a smile on her face.

"Ready, Yuzu," Mei replied.

The younger girl turned towards the opened door, about to slip out; but she stopped, halted by a faint and hesitant _"Um..."_ from behind her.

"Yuzu?" She let her fingers slip from the door handle.

"Mei." Yuzu wrung her hands in front of herself, head bowed in an unsuccessful attempt to hide the blush ever so encroaching upon her face.

"Yes?"

The door faintly slid shut behind them, clicking closed.

"A-A kiss."

"...What?"

Yuzu suddenly lifted her head, her emerald eyes finding Mei's violet ones in a nervous frenzy.

"A kiss! Our 'one kiss a day' kiss, I mean!"

Red quickly colored Mei's cheeks. She coughed into her hand quickly before replying.

"What about it?"

"M-May we do it? Please?

Yuzu didn't think it was possible for someone to turn redder than the color staining Mei's cheeks now.

But, that thought was soon discarded, along with anything else that might have been floating around in Yuzu's head; for Mei was stepping closer, hands coming to rest on her shoulders, _eyes sliding shut, lips coming closer to her own —_

"We'll be late for school." Yuzu's eyes snapped back open, and her body deflated like a balloon.

Mei was already back at the door, hand on the handle and seemingly far more composed than was Yuzu, if the pounding of her heart in her ear had anything to say about it, at least.

Yuzu could have sworn the pounding didn't stop the whole walk to school. She hardly could discern whatever Harumi had tried talking to her about before the first class of the day had started.

But once everyone was seated and the teacher had given his daily announcements, he had called upon Mei to hand out papers. They were exams from a few days prior, and Yuzu thought she had done exceptionally well on it.

No, she _knew_ she had done well. She had even studied with Mei last night.

Well, that wasn't to say there may have been a _distraction_ or two; but still! Plenty of time had been spent _actually_ reviewing the material! Lots of new math terms plugged right into her brain that she had _definitely_ been able to recall for the test!

So when Mei stepped up beside her desk, Yuzu felt jittery with some combination of nervousness and excitement.

It was right there.

Two seconds, and she would know her grade.

Which she _knew_ was—

Her thoughts stalled, and the breath caught in her throat. She wasn't certain what happened; she had clearly blanked out a second, because Mei was _way_ too close to her now, way _way_ too close, considering _where they were!_

The paper was slipping into her open hands, but she couldn't focus on finding the number at the top of the page, not when she could so clearly feel and hear Mei's breath upon her ear.

"You're in the top five of the class, Yuzu." It was nothing but a whisper, and it sent a chill down her spine.

Yuzu swallowed quickly, grabbing the paper forcefully with both her hands.

The paper—it was in her hands, she just had to look down and see her grade, but _how in any world was she supposed to focus on that when Mei was **right there?!**_

Wait—Mei had said she was in the top five.

The top _five!_

That was more than enough of a reason to be rewarded, to get the very thing Yuzu had been so desperately wanting that very morning!

"Mei—the kiss." She held the paper tighter, _tighter,_ nerves firing as she pushed the words out. "Can we have our one kiss a—"

Whatever gusto she had mustered up evaporated, and she froze in place.

Mei had already walked away.

She was down an entire other row handing some other girl her exam.

"Yuzucchi?"

"Huh?" Yuzu mumbled, brain slow in processing what had just happened.

"What did you say?" Harumi asked from the seat in front of her.

"What?!" Yuzu harshly whispered back. If Harumin had _heard her..._

"You were saying something, but I couldn't make it out."

"Oh..." The nervousness slowly left Yuzu in relief. But in it's place, a twinge of disappointment filled it's spot.

Mei was now retaking her seat, with no intention to return anywhere near her for the duration of the class. "It was nothing..." Yuzu muttered in reply.

 

* * *

 

She should be happy.

Ecstatic, even.

She had made a 98.

 _A 98_ on an _incredibly_ hard test that had just about used every ounce of brain power she had!

But she couldn't be.

No, she couldn't force herself to be happy, not when she had been denied a kiss—not once, but _twice._

She whined, kicking her feet on the couch at home. She laid on her stomach with her arm dangling off the edge of the couch, fingers tracing the 98 on the paper laying on the floor.

This should have been a time to celebrate such an accomplishment, but all she could feel was a small pang in her chest.

She just wanted a kiss.

A small peck on the lips.

She unconsciously began tracing her own lips, mind wandering to thoughts of the pair of lips she _wished_ she could be touching instead.

Yuzu sighed and closed her eyes.

Her mama was out, buying a small cake for such an accomplishment. But all she could do was pout and whine because of a _kiss._

Yuzu could vaguely hear the door to her and Mei's bedroom opening, but she ignored it. She wanted to continue pouting.

She had a _right_ to keep pouting, at least in the presence of the very person who had made her this way.

 _"Yuzu."_ She jumped, eyes snapping open in surprise for the second time that day.

_Oh gosh._

She stopped breathing altogether.

_Close, close, way too close._

Mei was there, _right_ there, and Yuzu could feel her very breath on her face.

It was then that she noticed the lack of much of _anything_ on Mei. A towel wrapped around her body left her mildly decent, but—

Yuzu's exhale was shaky.

She couldn't even recall _why_ she had been pouting. Not when Mei was standing practically naked right in front of her, and not when those lips that she _so_ wanted to kiss were less than an inch from her own.

"Congratulations on your test."

Her test.

Right.

Her test.

Which she had gotten a 98 on.

A _98._

A near perfect score.

But... _But...!_

Her eyes trailed down, from the violet eyes staring almost nonchalantly into her own, to the fluffy white towel wrapped around the other girl.

With Mei bending down, leaning in _indescribably_ close, it left it far too easy for Yuzu to notice the tease of cleavage just barely above the coverage of the towel.

Yuzu's body heated up at the sight.

She mentally groaned.

And when Mei called her name once more, and her emerald eyes locked onto Mei's lips—just barely parted, so close and so, so soft-looking, and _so kissable_ —Yuzu couldn't help herself then. She reached forward, hands finding hold on the towel.

"Mei—the kiss. I _want_ our one kiss a day."

Her resolve was entirely gone. There was nothing left holding her back, but she _still_ didn't lean forward, still didn't kiss Mei's undeniably sweet lips like she wanted to more than anything in the world.

But not a second later, she realized she didn't have to.

No, because she all too suddenly was finding herself littered in kisses.

Cheek, nose, the corner of her mouth, down to her neck, then _lower —_

Yuzu stifled a moan.

A kiss—she still wanted her kiss on the lips.

But this?

She couldn't tell Mei to stop.

She _couldn't,_ and when Mei was all too suddenly grabbing at her face, pushing, knees finding leverage on the couch—

Mei was on top of her.

_Mei was on top of her._

Her fingers tightened their hold on the towel—and it all too quickly came back to her that Mei was clad in nothing but a towel.

"Mei," Yuzu started, voice wobbly as she fought over the part of her desire yelling at her to just _give in_ to this array of affection.

But the kiss.

The _kiss_ —she _wanted_ it.

She released her hold on the towel, hands needy in grabbing for Mei's face.

The kisses stopped as she pulled the younger girl from the side of her throat now covered in kisses.

Her stare met Mei's, forceful and wanting as she worked the words up her uncertain throat.

"Kiss me. Please."

And a strange, fragile silence rapidly filled the space.

It was hard to ignore the feel of skin upon her legs, and the still-wet strands of hair tickling at her hands upon Mei's cheeks, and the breath on her lips.

But when Mei's eyes slipped closed, and she leaned in—closer and closer—Yuzu's heart completely stopped beating.

She let her own eyes close, content to have Mei close the gap between them.

She would get it.

Her kiss.

 _Finally,_ after an entire day of _waiting_ and—

and of the front door busting open, of Mei floundering off of Yuzu and falling off the side of the couch, and of a jovial shout of _"I have cake!"_

—Yuzu would be denied her one kiss a day.

 

* * *

 

The cake was delicious.

And it was a kind treat to get for her test score. But...

It wasn't the treat that she _really_ wanted.

Yuzu's bed was comfier than the couch, but it made no difference when all she felt like doing was pouting.

All she wanted was a kiss.

A single kiss from Mei, right on the lips.

She ignored the gentle dip in the bed as Mei joined on the other side. Internally, her heart puttered weakly and miserably along; and if she had the room to herself, she may have let herself give in to the childish temptation of shedding a few tears.

"Yuzu," Mei began, gently.

"What?" Yuzu mumbled, and she realized then that a few tears had escaped without her noticing. She quickly rubbed them away with the heels of her palms, hiding her face into the pillow beneath her head.

"What is wrong?"

A sigh escaped Yuzu then, muffled into the cottony material. "Nothing's wrong, Mei," Yuzu replied.

She felt silly, now, to try and voice what she wanted yet again.

"Yuzu." Mei's voice was soft, and Yuzu wanted to believe that, if she really _were_ to tell Mei what was wrong, the younger girl wouldn't think her to be silly.

So, with the little bit of hope she had left, Yuzu rolled over, happy that the lights had long been turned off.

"What is it, Mei?" Yuzu asked.

Mei faced her on her own pillow, although she had already made herself comfy under the blankets, unlike Yuzu, who had opted to pout and be grumpy curled up on her side of the bed.

However, despite the small ache in her chest and the watery feeling behind her eyes, Yuzu couldn't hold back the surprise when Mei leaned in towards her for the fourth time that day, face not an inch from her own.

"Yuzu," Mei repeated once more.

And, at that moment, Yuzu thought—right alongside her heart beating oh so rapidly in her chest, right as Mei pulled in closer, closer, to the point that their noses touched—that this was it.

She was about to get her one kiss a day from Mei.

"You need to go brush your teeth."

And, at that moment, Yuzu felt her heart all but burst. She nodded weakly, rolling back over and off the bed.

A kiss.

She just wanted a stupid kiss.

She shouldn't have cared as much as she did.

But, well...

She loved Mei. And she wanted to share something like this with the younger girl.

As she brushed her teeth, Yuzu couldn't help but feel a sad little seed of grief plant itself in her heart. She would be ending today without that kiss, and she would just have to accept it.

Yuzu was quiet as she opened and closed the door to the bedroom; so it surprised her to hear—once she had crawled up under he covers—Mei call out of her name in the near-darkness.

"Yes?" Yuzu replied.

"Are you ready?" It was not hope of something that filled Yuzu, but confusion.

"Ready for what?" Yuzu returned.

Mei didn't reply, but she did roll over, scooching closer to Yuzu and her side of the bed. Her hands reached for Yuzu's face, coming to rest on soft cheeks that may have been stained a little bit in salty tears a few minutes beforehand.

_It was soft._

Incredibly and indescribably soft when Mei leaned forward for the fifth and final time, her lips coming to finally rest on Yuzu's.

The older girl's heart nearly lept up her throat in surprise, and the only thing keeping her tethered down was the delicate hold Mei had on her face.

And... the kiss...

It wasn't forceful, or frantic, or... anything like that.

It was warm and soft and... loving.

It was entirely loving, and Yuzu felt herself melting into it.

"Goodnight, Yuzu," Mei whispered, but she captured Yuzu's lips a second time, just as sweet and soft as the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was done through a writing game, where [d_wolpertinger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/d_wolpertinger) told me the idea of what to write, which I then fleshed out into this fic.
> 
> Thank you, Wolpy! 😊❤️
> 
> ch. written on 7.5.19


	5. date for fail

When Mei had proposed the idea of a date, the gears had turned rather slowly in Yuzu's head. It was as though she couldn't comprehend the notion of Mei suggesting such a thing. And confusion, Mei couldn't help but note, looked cute on the older girl. With one eyebrow furrowed, head tilted ever so to the side, it all just made Yuzu appear more childish than she already was.

However, the moment the gears had clicked into place, she lit up in excitement.

"A date?" Yuzu echoed. Her voice was surprised, but her eyes were suddenly bright.

"Yes, a date," Mei repeated. Her face was bound to be red; it was so hot in that moment and—

"I would love to!"

And, maybe Mei didn't need to worry about the color of her cheeks, for Yuzu's own face darkened not a second later at her outburst.

 

* * *

 

The movies were a safe choice, in Mei's opinion.

The Notebook had suggested them last time, and it wouldn't hurt to have a second go.

Yuzu had been the one to grab for her hand this time; and she had seemed rather confident in this decision, too. The smile she directed towards Mei as the previews ended and the movie began was radiant in the dark space—but so was the blush lighting her features.

Despite that clear evidence of Yuzu's embarrassment, to Mei, everything seemed... right.

However, twenty minutes into the film, as Yuzu squeaked at some monster cleaving off the head of a civilian, Mei regretted this decision _horribly._

 

* * *

 

Miniature golf was next. The idea had stemmed from some doodle Yuzu had left in the margins of the Notebook of what _appeared_ to be a stick figure swinging a club. Her second guess on the unintelligible drawing was a giraffe, so the zoo had been a large possibility.

The two girls were on the fourth hole when Mei felt the deep claw of regret dig itself a bit deeper in her chest.

Yuzu was up to put, and she had to shoot the mint colored ball through the door of the four-foot tall windmill, where it would then pop out the other side and, hopefully, roll into the hole.

Easier said than done, at least.

But they were having fun, regardless of whether a ball or two had wound up shot into the lake. In fact, Yuzu had seemed to find humor in Mei's incompetence, laughing hard enough to bring tears to her eyes.

 _"Hey!"_ Yuzu shouted suddenly.

Down on the opposite end of the windmill, a little boy—likely no older than five or six years old—had grabbed hold of the red ball that Mei had shot before Yuzu's turn.

He glanced up, eyes wide in fear.

And then, he stuck out his tongue towards Yuzu, blowing a fat raspberry at the girl before running off in the direction of the third hole of the course.

"Get back here!"

Mei could only sigh as Yuzu chased after the boy, waving her miniature golf club as she went.

Fifteen minutes later, after the red golf ball had been dunked into the lake and Yuzu's club had been bent after colliding with something (likely the ground, Mei assumed), they were lucky the staff hadn't banned them from the place.

 _Extremely_ lucky, Mei noted, when Yuzu came back more than a bit out of breath and with new equipment to finish the game.

However, Mei supposed the trouble may have been worth it, just to hear the cheers of triumph when Yuzu sunk her ball into the final hole.

Neither was certain of the score at that point, but Mei couldn't help but feel like the real winner with the air of happiness that Yuzu seemed to carry about her.

Perhaps, this date was not as bad as she had though.

 

* * *

 

Mei decided on a coffee shop next.

Nothing could possibly go wrong in a coffee shop.

That, however, was clearly a horrible misconception on her part.

As Mei accepted the drinks from the barista and returned to the table where Yuzu was smiling unabashedly at her approach, her feet snagged the corner of—of _something,_ because all of a sudden she was tumbling face-first towards the floor.

All the worse, when she looked up from her position on the floor, Mei realized that the drinks had gone flying out of her hands.

Directly at Yuzu.

She was covered in some green iced thing and a chocolate milk drink.

Mei wished, in that moment, that she could sink into the floor and disappear because _yes,_ this date was _just_ as bad as she had thought.

 

* * *

 

"Mei," Yuzu began, gently. "Look at me." A beat of nothing, and then: "Please?"

The pair had no choice but to return home after the mess at the coffee shop. Yuzu's clothes had been soaked through, and she needed a shower before she began to stink of spoiled milk.

But, it had been hard to miss how quiet Mei had gotten.

The girl was naturally a bit quiet, but Mei hadn't said _anything_ since apologizing for spilling their drinks on her.

And now, in the silence of their shared bedroom, Yuzu couldn't bear to keep this charade up. She knew Mei was upset and likely disappointed in her efforts.

But, well...

Yuzu wasn't.

She reached forward across the bed, lightly grabbing Mei's hands in her own.

"Mei?"

A pause, then two, during which Yuzu thought her call would go unanswered.

But then Mei's violet eyes turned towards her.

And Yuzu couldn't resist the way the words all but tumbled out of her mouth.

"Today was wonderful."

Something flashed across Mei's eyes, changing her pained expression into something more akin to confusion.

"Today was a nightmare."

"No, it wasn't," Yuzu attempted to placate.

"Yuzu—"

"Mei, I got to spend an entire day with you. Things might have gone wrong, but I couldn't have been happier spending that time with you."

The smile she afforded Mei was nothing but sincere and loving, filling that space in the younger girl's heart with something comforting and warm.

When Yuzu leaned forward, lighting capturing the girl's lips with her own, Mei sighed.

And when Yuzu's palms came up to hold Mei's cheeks, pulling her close and nurturing that comforting swell in her chest, Mei all but melted into the touch, right along with any of her remaining worries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ❤️
> 
> 7.12.19 & 7.13.19


End file.
